Idocrase Vesuvianite
Idocrase Vesuvianite
Idocrase is a rare gemstone, also known as Idocrase Vesuvianite. It is a green, brown, yellow, or blue silicate mineral. Vesuvianite occurs as tetragonal crystals in skarn deposits and limestones that have been subjected to contact metamorphism.
While the name idocrase is used for rare gemstone-quality specimens, the mineral is usually known by the name vesuvianite, since the first samples were found on the Mt. Vesuvius volcano.
The mineral was first identified and named by the famous German gemologist Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1795. Werner was also the first to identify chrysoberyl, and he was the mentor of Friedrich Mohs, inventor of the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. The name idocrase is from the Greek and means mixed form, a reference to its crystals showing a mixture of other mineral forms.
Idocrase is not only rare, but transparent specimens that can be faceted count as very rare indeed. Most gem-quality idocrase is opaque with an appearance similar to jade. The opaque specimens have a greasy or resinous luster, while the rare transparent form has a vitreous luster.
Idocrase brings us closer to the higher realms and provides an easier link to our sense of higher self. It facilitates the seeing and the understanding of things on this earth that have no substance.
Psychologically, Vesuvianite is releases feelings of imprisonment and restraint, dissolves anger and alleviates fear and negativity. It helps to create a sense of inner security, opens the mind and stimulates inventiveness and the urge to discover, linking into creativity. Vesuvianite banishes depression and clears negative thought patterns so that the mind can function more clearly.